Akumas of the Heroes
by CelestialStrings
Summary: A series of stories surrounding the akumatized versions of our favorite heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir. 'Chapter Two: Chat de Cheshire.'
1. The Marionette

**So, a lot of people liked my last Miraculous Ladybug fic, so I thought I should write another one! Let me know what you think!**

In her opinion, Marinette had a pretty high tolerance level. She had been dealing with Chloé and her baggage since—what? First grade? She was constantly running around the bakery, helping her parents fulfill orders; working the cashier, packing up delicious goodies, even helping her father bake every once in a while! The amount of homework she was given had only increased over the years, and ever since she started winning designing contests, people had started giving her commissions. Not a bad way to earn a living though. Don't even mention the amount of stress Marinette was under protecting Paris from its semiweekly akuma attacks.

So yeah, Marinette's tolerance level was approximately three times the height of the Eiffel Tower. But every person has their limit, even patient people like Marinette. And what finally pushed her over the edge? Surprise, surprise; it was Chloé.

The jab that the (fake) blonde had casually slipped in wasn't even directed at her. Not at her parents, not Alya, Adrien, or Nino. The person wasn't even in their class! The jab was directed at the one, the only, _Chat Noir._

It was after she and Chat had taken down Dark Cupid. The class was still on the fairy-tale unit. The class had been discussing who their heroes were; real or fictional. Most of the class had said Ladybug, their very own local hero. Marinette was smiling behind her hand, could you blame her?

Madame Bustier, noticing that Marinette wasn't participating in the lesson, called her out, "Miss Dupain-Cheng? Who would your hero be?" Surprised at being called out, it took her a moment to comprehend what she was being asked. This gave enough time for the entire class to turn to her to see what her answer would be.

Smiling nervously, she responded, "Well, um, Chat Noir." In front of her, Marinette could see Adrien shoot up in his seat and turn around to look at her curiously. Madame Bustier raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh? I half expected you to say Ladybug. Why Chat Noir?" At this moment, Chloé had turned around in her seat and spoke in her nasally voice, "Yeah, Marinette. Why Chat Noir? You know that he's absolutely useless without Ladybug, right? You've seen how many times he's been under the villains spells!"

Marinette narrowed her eyes at the girl, trying her hardest to keep her cool. _No one could insult Chat and get away with it without a thrashing from her._ The dark haired girl retorted, "If it weren't for Chat Noir, Ladybug would've been seriously injured at least fifteen times by now! But if you were half the Ladybug fan you think you are, you would know that! He's saved her butt from so many of the akumas, she'd be dead without him! His Cataclysm is epic, his selflessness is amazing, his agility is aweing, and don't even get me started on his puns! All in all, he is awesome and inspiring."

She didn't realize that she was standing until Alya put a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her into her seat. Marinette gave a resigned sigh and dropped back into her seat with the words, "I rest my case."

The entire class was silent, staring at Marinette in shock; she was never that open or defensive about anyone. Not even herself. Chloé smirked at Marinette's outburst, "Aww. Does the second-rate girl have a crush on the second-rate hero? It's like a bad love story!"

Not looking up from her lap, Marinette whispered quietly, "You don't want to mess with me." The class was so engrossed in the 'catfight' that none of them noticed the pitch black butterfly fly through the open window.

Chloé let out a disbelieving laugh and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, "What are _you_ gonna do about it? Throw some of _tes croissants_ at me?" The blonde laughed obnoxiously but it immediately died down when she noticed the butterfly flying towards Marinette. The butterfly flew into Marinette's earrings and they were soon surrounded by a dark fog. A purple butterfly-esque mask appeared over her eyes.

The students heard a faint voice spread over the classroom, filling their very bones with dread. "My poor Marionette," the voice crooned, "So tired of the girl with everything making fun of the people with nothing. Not to mention mocking the boy she considers her best friend. I can help you get your revenge on her, but for a price."

Marinette looked conflicted, as though she was having an internal struggle. A strange red…thing flew out of Marinette's purse and started speaking soothingly to her. "Fight it, Marinette! Papillon is manipulating you!"

The voice spoke again, "Aren't you tired of people manipulating you? It's your turn." Marinette's internal struggle came to an end as she bowed her head in defeat and muttered, _"Oui, Papillon_. It's my turn." The red bug shook her head disbelievingly and hid in the corner of the classroom.

As she stood up, the black fog consumed her. As the fog cleared away, her classmates backed up in fear. The once beautiful blue eyes filled with kindness had been replaced by eyes pitch black; pupil, iris, and white. Her typical clothes had been replaced with a red short-sleeved dress with a pink skirt and light brown corset around her waist. Her hair ribbons had extended to about her waist and her face had become painted like a doll's. In each hand was a marionette.

When she spoke, her voice was hauntingly melodic, "Everyone in this city was just Chloé's puppet." Her hand twitched and Ivan and Kim went limp like rag dolls. Marinette's painted lips curled into a smirk and her dark eyes flashed, "Now it's time that I pulled the strings." Her hand jerked up and the two boys snapped to attention, their eyes pitch black like their master's.

The Marionette's smirk grew as her fingers twitched, controlling the puppets in her hands. The movements of the two boys mimicked those of the puppets. They surged forward and grabbed Chloé by her arms. They stood to attention, awaiting their master's orders.

The dark-haired girl walked down to the teacher's desk (Madame Bustier was cowering underneath it) and turned to face the class. "I do not wish to harm you," the girl whispered, "But if you attempt to free her, then I will be forced to take drastic measures." No one wanted to imagine what the 'drastic measures' were.

With a final smile, the girl walked calmly out of the classroom, her fingers bouncing. Her two henchmen followed her, dragging the blonde between them.

The moment that she was out of earshot, the classroom erupted into chaos. Alya collapsed onto the desk in front of her, sobbing. Nino simply stared ahead, expressionless. The rest of the class began panicking; they had never seen an Akuma like this.

Adrien, got up and went to where the small red bug had zoomed to earlier. Reaching behind a pile of books, he grabbed the small being and raced out of the classroom. No one noticed his absence.

As soon as he reached the locker room, he let go of the red bug who started zooming around in a panicked manner. Plagg zoomed out of Adrien's over shirt and chased after the being and crushed her in a hug. "It's okay, Tikki," the kwami muttered, "We'll get her back."

The red bug, Tikki, calmed down immediately and turned to Adrien with a look of determination on her face. "Okay," she said in a high, squeaky voice, "My name is Tikki. I'm Ladybug's kwami. Yes I flew out of Marinette's bag. Yes Marinette is Ladybug. We need you to say, 'Tikki, Plagg, transform me' so we can go and save Marinette. Any questions?"

Adrien opened his mouth, but then closed it again, knowing that time is of the essence. A smirk grew on his face. He said, "Tikki! Plagg! Transform me!" The kwamis flew into his ring and he was transformed in a flash of black and red light.

He looked to the mirror in the locker room, and was shocked at his transformation. His suit still looked the same; the same black leather. But when it caught the light a certain way, it seemed to be a dark red. Ladybug's yoyo was around his waist. He still had his cat ears and tail, but one of his eyes had changed to a shade of blue very similar to Ladybug's. But the biggest shock was the wings. Sprouting from his back was a pair of red and black wings. He could feel them as though they were a physical part of his body; it was an amazing feeling.

He could hear Tikki's voice in his head, _The feathers are made of metal, so you won't be sneezing constantly._ He smiled at the mirror before jumping out the nearest window and soaring into the sky. He was not entirely sure how he managed not to turn into a pancake on the pavement, but he wasn't complaining. _This is what is known as the god form,_ Tikki explained, _it's what happens when two kwamis share one miraculous. It's why Papillon is desperate to grab ahold of your and Ladybug's miraculous. Now you can purify akumas and summon Lucky Charm along with the normal powers of your Miraculous._

Chat grinned as he soared above Paris, searching for 'The Marionette.'

It wasn't that hard to find her. Normally, Chat Noir would listen for the screaming and crashes that normally came with Akuma attacks. However, as he got closer and closer to the Eiffel Tower, Paris seemed to grow more and more silent. Plagg whispered in his mind, _She's manipulating people and telling them to go to sleep. Not to the extent that she's manipulating those other two, but she still has some control over them._

Chat could feel Tikki's agreement, _Because she's so strong willed and because she's a miraculous holder, it will be harder for Papillon to control her. He hasn't realized yet, but let's hope he doesn't._

He landed softly at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a favorite spot for him and Ladybug to sit after patrol. It was one of the few times they could talk to each other outside of Akuma attacks. Where else would she go?

Chat expected the Marionette to be waiting for him. To at least have Ivan and Kim restraining Chloé or holding her over the edge of the tower. But when he landed, Ivan, Kim, and Chloé were nowhere to be found and the Marionette was sitting on the edge of the tower. The ribbons in her hair were waving freely in the breeze and she was swinging her legs over the side.

She must have heard him land, "I don't want to do this, Chat. I don't want to hut Chloé. She bugs the hell out of me, but I don't want to hurt her." As Chat sat down cautiously next to her, she continued, "I've released Ivan and Kim. Chloé ran off to tell her daddy. I've put most of the city to sleep; I don't want anyone running after me."

The Marionette stood up slowly, her back to the open air, "The akuma is in my earrings. You haven't had to use Lucky Charm so there's no magic to fix what I've done. Once you beak the earrings and cleanse the akuma, they'll be broken permanently and I will no longer have the ability to be Ladybug. I don't know if I can live with that."

The purple butterfly mask appeared and the villainous voice spoke like it had in the classroom, _"What are you doing?_ Take his miraculous!" Her eyes flashed and she snarled, _"Non!_ You promised me that no one would control me and here you are threatening to take control of me! No more, Papillon!"

Marinette removed her earrings and handed them to a shell-shocked Chat Noir. She shook her head vigorously and the mask disappeared. She stepped backward, closer to the edge. She blinked once and her eyes changed from pitch black to the same blue that he had fallen in love with. She smiled sadly and murmured, "Au revoir, mon chaton." Marinette stepped off the edge.

Chat clutched the earrings and screamed as Marinette fell towards the earth. Her Marionette dress began to flicker and were replaced by her normal clothes. Chat jumped off the Tower and tucked his wings close to him, gaining momentum in the hopes to catch up to her.

He was too late. She hit the ground just a few seconds before he could've caught her. He felt numb. No one had ever died in an akuma attack before. She was the first.

Chat growled and threw the yoyo up in the air. He didn't say 'lucky charm,' but the yoyo seemed to understand. A small red rose landed in his hand. He placed the rose on top of Marinette's sleeping and broken form. His ring beeped. He had five minutes before he lost the Ladybug part of his transformation.

Chat Noir chucked the earrings onto the ground and crushed them beneath his foot. A small black butterfly exited the broken earrings but didn't get very far before Chat opened Ladybug's yoyo and captured the akuma and cleansed it. A white butterfly was released.

He picked the red rose from Marinette's hands and muttered, "Please work." He tossed the rose in the air and yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The ladybugs did not move from the Eiffel Tower. They quickly moved around the earrings and made them whole again. They flew around Marinette's body as though they didn't know what to do. Adrien could feel Tikki urge them to heal Marinette.

They complied. When the ladybugs vanished, Marinette sat up and took a deep and gasping breath. The Ladybug part of Chat's transformation wore off and Tikki quickly moved to Marinette.

Chat wasn't far behind. He clutched Marinette in a hug and said, "My Lady! Marinette!"

 **So that's done. What did you think?**


	2. Chat de Cheshire

The battle was going poorly. This time, the person under Papillon's spell was a child, _a child,_ whose mother had passed away. The kid, a little girl no more than seven years old, was so emotionally distraught, that she became perfect akuma material. Her distress made her the most powerful akuma they had faced so far.

She had been given the name _Mère_ , a word meaning mother. A rather cruel and twisted name to give the child. But Papillon had to be in serious desperation if he had chosen to take advantage of someone so young and under such emotional strain. Ladybug and Chat Noir had been battling her for nearly an hour, and she showed no signs of giving in.

Already the two superheroes had been forced to take quick breaks for their kwamis to recharge before jumping back into the battle headfirst. The little girl had been clutching a teddy bear throughout the battle, but had been using her finger to direct the magic that she had been given, so the two heroes thought nothing of it. Finally, Ladybug noticed a slip. The girl turned to her teddy bear and whispered in its ear. The bear seemed to nod and the magic that she had been channeling quickly changed to a different kind of damage. Originally, the girl had been delivering the same kind of injury that her mom had had (on a less serious level), but now it seemed as though she was _forcing_ her targets to feel the same pain she felt when her mom had passed.

Ladybug looked to her partner, "Chat! The akuma is in her teddy bear!" Chat gave her a quick wink, "Consider it done, my lady." He charged the akuma while her back was turned. She must have heard Chat's footsteps on the concrete because she quickly turned around and pointed her finger at the leather-clad boy.

Chat was stopped in his tracks and his eyes went wide. He slowly knelt to the pavement and clutched his chest. "No," he murmured, "I thought I got over it." Ladybug felt an inkling of concern for her partner, but she had to deal with the akuma first. She threw her yoyo in the air and cried, "Lucky charm!" A mechanical claw was placed in her hand. _Well,_ she thought, _at least this one's fairly straightforward._

She aimed carefully and, when the claw was lined up perfectly, pressed the button to extend it. The claw grabbed the teddy bear and returned to Ladybug quickly. She clutched the teddy bear and was about to rip the head off when she heard the akumatized girl cry, "Non! That was maman's last gift to me!"

The heroine's heart broke a little bit, but she steeled herself and tore the head off. A black butterfly flew out of the neck and she quickly cleansed it with her yoyo. She tossed the claw in the air and yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The magic flew around Paris, returning the injured to their previous state (including Chat) and finally around the teddy bear, making it whole once more.

Ladybug picked up the teddy bear and walked slowly over to the girl who was just beginning to wake up. She knelt next to the girl and whispered, "Hey, I know it's going to be hard for a while, but your dad's going to need you. You need to be there for him, and he's going to be there for you." The little girl grabbed the teddy bear and clutched it close to her chest, "Oui, Ladybug. Merci." And she was gone, off to find her dad.

Ladybug turned to where Chat had been and held her fist out, expecting Chat's to meet hers. It didn't.

Chat was still kneeling on the ground. He refused to meet her eyes and said softly, "I lost my mom about a year ago. I thought I was over it, but I guess this akuma hit a little close to home." Ladybug didn't have time to reach out to him, because he grabbed his staff and pole-vaulted away from her at the same time her earrings beeped. She had one spot left.

Ladybug ran behind a building and let the transformation be released. Marinette caught Tikki in her hand and said, "I don't know how to comfort him, Tikki! I can't just leave him alone but I don't know what to do!"

Tikki, despite being exhausted, offered the best advice she could give, "Let him cool off a bit, Marinette. Later, when you go on patrol, bring some sweets from the bakery and let him just vent. Sometimes that's all that people need!" Marinette smiled at her kwami, "That sounds perfect, Tikki! Now, let's head home and get some sweets in you!" Tikki giggled as Marinette kissed the top of her head and gently placed her in her purse.

 _On the other side of Paris…_

Chat Noir sat at the top of the Eiffel Tower, absorbed in his own thoughts. When his mom had disappeared, he had tried to push past it, diving into his modeling gigs and his fencing and Chinese lessons. As cold as it may sound, he barely spared his mom a thought, finding it better to busy himself rather than deal with the pain. It got better when he went to school, but dealing with the akuma had reminded him that his pain was still very real.

He reached into the pocket of his suit (a rather recent discovery on his part) and pulled out the photo of his mom that he had taken to keeping with him. He stared at it, and for the first since his mom had vanished, he began to cry. Chat felt Plagg trying to comfort him, but he was never the best at it. And so Chat cried, he cried silently, but with every speck of energy he had.

He didn't notice the pure black butterfly heading towards the picture of his mom.

A purple butterfly mask appeared over his eyes as he looked up. "Hello Chat de Cheshire. You need never be upset again, I can help you, but for a cost." Chat could feel Plagg urging him to say no, but Papillon seemed to smirk in his mind and he murmured, _"I can help you find your mother."_ And that was all Chat needed. He bowed his head sadly and said, "Oui, Papillon."

A dark fog consumed Chat Noir and Plagg's voice was abruptly cut off in his head. When the fog cleared away, Chat's previously black suit and mask and ears had become a stark white. His bright green eyes had become a sickly purple and seemed to glow in the dusk of Paris. His staff remained mostly the same, but seemed to become a shade or two lighter than before. His ring was no longer black and green, but silver, as though he hadn't been transformed at all. But the most disturbing part about his transformation was his smile. The once cocky grin had stretched around the bottom half of his face and curled up a good part of his cheeks.

Chat de Cheshire giggled and said, "Look out Paris! Chat de Cheshire is coming your way!" His body vanished and the only thing left at the top of the tower was the shadow of his toothy grin.

Marinette sighed in relief as she collapsed onto her chaise. The akuma attack had taken up a majority of her Saturday afternoon. Whenever her parents asked her where she had gone, she simply told them she was out gathering ideas for projects. Unable to understand their daughter's wacky and artistic ways, they normally bought the excuse. Thankfully, today was one of those days.

Neither did her parents question her when she asked if she could bring a few pastries and sweets up to her room. That's one thing that Marinette loved about her parents; they trusted her, so they almost never questioned her.

It was about five in the afternoon, so she had about two and a half hours until she needed to head and start patrol so she could meet Chat at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It normally took her about half an hour to get through her part of the city and meet Chat at their designated eight o'clock.

But it seemed that a certain alley cat had other plans.

She opened her eyes and glanced over at the other side of the room. Tikki was nowhere to be found. But maybe that was a good thing at this particular time.

Suddenly, as if by magic, the door to her balcony opened. Marinette frowned; she could have sworn that she locked it. She was saved by questioning it further when the head of someone appeared and said, "Hello, Princess."

Marinette shrieked and fell off her chaise. The person in her room began to giggle and she stuck her nose up over the side of the chaise. The body of the person appeared to match the head and she gasped when she saw the familiar suit, "Chat Noir?"

Chat hissed at the name, "Not anymore, Princess. My name is Chat de Cheshire."

Well, that explained his earsplitting grin. She frowned at him, but his grin only got wider. He bowed to her and waggled his eyebrows, "Well, I figured I ought to tell you that I am going away for a bit. Since you seem to know my lady fairly well, I was wondering if you could tell her that her partner will be occupied for an unknown amount of time?"

That piqued Marinette's interest, "You mean you're not interested in getting her Miraculous? Not interested in hurting people?" Chat de Cheshire's grin vanished, but only momentarily, "Of course not, Princess! With these powers I'll never be upset again! And my senses have been increased so I can finally find my mom! As soon as I've found her, I promise that I will return to Paris to help Ladybug and defeat Papillon."

With one final bow, Chat Blanc de Cheshire vanished, leaving nothing but a silhouette of a smile and the faint glow of purple eyes.

Tikki flew out of her hiding place from beneath Marinette's covers and hovered in front of Marinette's face. "C'mon, Marinette," she squeaked, "We have to go save Chat Noir!" But despite Tikki's urgency, Marinette couldn't help but hesitate. Seeing this, the kwami frowned and said, "What's wrong?"

Marinette opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, "Well, if he's not going to hurt anyone, why should we capture the akuma? We can wait until he finds his mom." Tikki shook her head, "Given the right circumstances, Papillon could control Chat de Cheshire if he doesn't do as he's told. It could end in disaster."

Tikki hung her head, "Chat Noir was transformed when he was akumatized, otherwise his kwami would have come to find me." Marinette felt her heart break for her kwami and said, "What's his name?" Tikki looked up at Marinette and smiled, "His name is Plagg. We've been together for over five thousand years. He's my best friend, my other half."

And that was all Marinette needed to hear. She stood up with a determined look and said, "Tikki! Transform me!" A few seconds later, Ladybug stood where Marinette had. In her mind, Tikki murmured, _Thank you for not saying 'what_ was _his name.'_ Ladybug smiled, "Let's go, Tikki. We've got a kwami and an alley cat to save."

It was harder to find him than Marinette would have thought. Because Chat de Cheshire wasn't interested in hurting any civilians, she wasn't able to follow the screams and crashes that she normally would. However, a couple people that she asked had told her that they saw someone that looked similar to Chat Noir headed towards the Agreste Mansion.

When she arrived at the mansion, she swung up to the front door and knocked. The door quickly opened and she was greeted by the Monsieur Agreste's personal assistant, Nathalie. She frowned, "Ladybug? If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" Ladybug stood up straight, "I received intelligence that an akuma was headed this way. Have you seen him?"

Chat's head appeared behind Nathalie and he giggled, "Who? Little old me?" Nathalie shrieked when she heard the voice. She turned and studied the akuma and her eyes widened in recognition, "Adrien?"

Ladybug opened her mouth to correct her, but Chat beat her to it. His whole body materialized and he said, "That _was_ my name, dearest. Some knew me as Chat Noir, but now it's Chat de Cheshire. And I'm going to have a _chat_ with my father, and then go find my mother."

The heroine's eyes widened; _Chat Noir is Adrien?_ She paled as another thought hit her; _I've been running around Paris in spandex with my crush?!_ As difficult as it was to wrap her head around, Ladybug knew she had a job to do, so she set her face and said, "Chat de Cheshire, I know you want to find your mother, but being akumatized is not the way to do it! Just let me cleanse the akuma and I can help you find her."

For the first time since Marinette had seen the new villain, he scowled at her. She almost stepped back in alarm, but managed to control herself at the last second. "I was never able to find her when I was just myself," he hissed, "What makes you think we could do it together?"

Ladybug took a cautious step forward, "I'm not saying that you can. You're drawing your powers from Papillon, so that gives him the ability to manipulate you in the right situation. What would your mother think if she saw you taking power from a villain?"

Chat de Cheshire's voice got dangerously low, "You know nothing about my mother."

Ladybug tried a different approach, "But what about your kwami? Plagg, right? He's still in your ring. How's he doing right now?" Chat de Cheshire hesitated, and that was all Ladybug needed. She stepped forward and said, "I'm sorry, Chat, but other people are being affected by this. Not just you."

His façade began to slip and his expression became desperate. The closer that Ladybug got to him, the closer that Chat's knees got to the floor. In her peripheral vision, Ladybug saw Nathalie sneak upstairs to get Monsieur Agreste.

When his knees hit the ground, he curled into a ball and sobbed. Ladybug wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "Chat, Adrien, let me help you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of a blonde woman you looked remarkably like him and murmured, "The akuma is in here."

A purple butterfly mask appeared over Chat's eyes and a voice coated the room, _"What are you doing?_ Get her Miraculous!" Chat closed his eyes and his fist began to shake before he muttered, "I've let her go."

In the blink of an eye, Chat tore the photograph in half. Ladybug quickly cleansed the akuma and released the pure white butterfly.

Chat Noir was left in the place of Chat de Cheshire and he was still curled in a ball. Ladybug placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, desperation clearly written across his face. With a soft smile, Ladybug said, "Welcome home, Chat Noir. Let's go to the tower. We've got some things to discuss. And I think our kwamis have some catching up to do."

Chat Noir gave her a shy smile, "Thank you, my Lady."

 **And done.**

 **What did you guys think? So, Chat de Cheshire had a smile similar to the Cheshire Cat from Tim Burton's** _ **Alice in Wonderland.**_ **If you wonder what I think he looked like just look up chat de Cheshire on google and it'll come up.**

 **Peace out.**

 **~ CelestialStrings**


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